On this day in 1905, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a landmark decision that held that the 14th Amendment’s due process clause protected an individual’s “general right to make a contract in relation to his business.”

While Supreme Court Justices Anthony Kennedy and Stephen Breyer were before Congress testifying about sequestration and the courts Thursday, one member of the House Appropriations committee decided to use the moment to get some high-end legal advice.